Senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference-Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) leader, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani, has expressed vehement opposition to India’s Republic Day celebrations in the occupied territory.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Rehmani in a statement issued in Islamabad ,today, emphasized that the people of Jammu and Kashmir categorically reject the festivities, citing India’s failure to comply with UN Security Council resolutions on the Kashmir issue.
Rehmani underscored that despite repeated assertions, the Kashmiri people are resolute in their pursuit of freedom, a right acknowledged by the United Nations under the principle of self-determination. He pointed out that the locals consistently boycott Indian celebrations in the illegally occupied part, accusing India of coercing participation through military and police force to manipulate global opinion.
The APHC-AJK leader condemned the Indian government for being a “racist regime,” citing daily killings of innocent civilians, the targeting of pro-freedom parties, the ban on Islamic educational institutions, and the confiscation of ancestral properties of Kashmiris. He also raised concerns about the dismissal of Muslim employees from their jobs and the unjust legal persecution of thousands of youth and students.
Rehmani concluded by characterizing India’s Republic Day as nothing more than a Black Day in Kashmir. He pointed to the heavy military presence, with over nine hundred thousand forces stationed in the region for the past 70 years, patrolling the disputed area round the clock. The statement reflects the ongoing tensions and human rights issues in the region as India prepares to celebrate its Republic Day in the contentious territory.
Another Hurriyat leader Altaf Hussain Wani in a statement urged the Kashmiri people on both sides of the Line of Control to observe India’s Republic Day as Black Day as a mark of their protest against the India’s illegal occupation of their motherland.—KMS
